Results Of Honduran Presidential Election In Question—Accusations Of Fraud And Calls For Recount

Brenna LaBine – Tensions are high in Honduras as the results in the latest presidential election have the opposition and many citizens calling for a recount on the grounds that this election, like many before it, has been plagued by corruption and fraud.

According to Javier Sanchez of La Tribuna, “Key electoral issues have been citizen security, organized crime, unemployment, and corruption”…with a reported 59% of Hondurans believing the election would be riddled with fraud going into it.

Amnesty International has claimed human rights violations are taking place at a widespread level, explaining that Honduras has the highest murder rate in the world, with 26 murders per every 100,000, but investigates only 20% of these homicides.

In the election that took place on Nov. 24, 2013, National Party candidate Juan Orlando Hernandez was elected president and is set to serve a four-year term. One of Hernandez’s main objectives is to have a soldier on every street corner in the high-crime areas.

But the opposition does not believe that the poll results are clean despite assurances from Hernando’s team. The BBC reported earlier today that the electoral authorities in Honduras have agreed to recount the votes, stating, “Defeated left-wing candidate Xiomara Castro demanded the recount, saying she had been robbed of victory by ‘fraud.’ Castro claimed that tally sheets had been altered…the voter registry included people who were dead or abroad, and polling stations were poorly monitored.”

The need for institutional stability in Honduras right now is grave. Hondurans expect that the victorious president-elect will battle the serious decline in their living standards since the coup d’etat that occurred in 2009.

Editor’s Note: At Live and Invest Overseas, we believe in giving our readers the truth and not the rose-colored version of the countries we recommend. While not all areas are safe in Honduras, not all areas are dangerous either. To see what we mean, please check out our country retirement report on Roatan, in the Bay Islands.